EVOLUTION is a four-part sculptural narrative that reflects my lived journey throo a relationship that moved from love, to envy and manipulation, to violence, and finally transformation.  Each mannequin embodies one chapter of that experience-not as a static figure, but as an emotional and psychological state that I once carried in my mind and body.

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The first piece represents Love-the beginning, where hope and connection feel genuine and pure.  The second represents the Ego, greed, money, jealousy.  All those nasty emotions we get when we have some fear that Love will not stay....or that Love is an illusion.  Then subtle manipulations begin to unravel the magic and trust in each other.  The third red piece represents the paralysis of spirit that I went through.  Through threats to my professional and personal life and physical violence, I felt trapped in a nightmare.  I was living in an invisible prison.  I was abused mentally, physically, financially, verbally.  The deeper reality is that this was his evil way of trafficking me so that he would not have to work and could continue to be a parasite on me.  This red piece confronts the dismantling of self that occurs inside these violent, entrapping relationships, that operate as a form of modern slavery.  The fourth represents Transformation, the reclaiming of strength, identity and spiritual growth after surviving entrapment, coercion, and the lived experience of being trafficked.

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I used materials like paint, yarn, resin, and mixed media to show different aspects of our psyche or well being.  The use of zip ties, chains, and rope symbolize the immobilization, restraint and loss of autonomy that sharpened my experience.  The feeling of being confined, controlled and unable to move freely.  These materials embody the truth of entrapment at the heart of trafficking.  I was living in an invisible prison.

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My healing and ability to create this work-became possible thanks to the intuition, wisdom, and perception of the Miami Beach Police Department, particularly Detective Bernie, Yaneth Baez, prosecutor, and Tanya Gennusa, victims advocate.  And I am deeply grateful to Victor Williams, who has dedicated his life to shining light where there is darkness and giving a girl like me a chance to be heard.